The number of persons detained during the Coventry City v Manchester United game has been released, along with information of police incidents. The FA said today, Friday, April 26, that 51 arrests were made during the two FA Cup semi-finals last weekend, citing ‘unacceptable fan behaviour’.
In total, the police made 28 arrests at the Chelsea against Manchester City game on Saturday, and another 23 at the Coventry City v Manchester United game the next day. According to officials, slightly under half of all arrests involved fireworks, tailgating, or hate crimes.
This includes two people arrested for tragedy chanting and homophobic slurs. More than one-fifth of all arrests were for drug-related offenses.
Six of the arrests were for violent offenses, including three assaults on emergency responders. One supporter was arrested after injuring a police horse.
The revelation comes after Mark Robins’ Sky Blues staged one of the greatest FA Cup comebacks, rallying from 3-0 down with 20 minutes remaining against Manchester United to force penalties. They lost, but a very narrow VAR decision in the final minute of extra time denied City a merited victory.
Chris Bryant, Stadium Director, stated, “We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of illegal, anti-social, offensive, or discriminatory behavior, and our crowd safety teams work tirelessly to ensure perpetrators are quickly identified and reported to the police.” I’d want to congratulate the police and the Wembley Stadium personnel for responding quickly and decisively to such abhorrent behaviour during both semi-finals.
“These arrests are a clear message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated at Wembley Stadium.” Superintendent Gerry Parker, who will be match commander for the Emirates FA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals, stated, “Our stance has been firm throughout the season: there is no tolerance for drug use, assaults, or hate crimes.”
“We understand that the vast majority of football fans at matches are law-abiding, and our officers will be on hand to deal with any supporters who are caught breaking the law inside or near the stadium. We are working closely with Wembley Stadium, the FA, and UEFA to ensure everyone’s safety throughout the FA Cup and Champions League finals.”
Wembley Stadium says it has made “several enhancements” to its security and safety operations during previous events. They say this includes more stewards, more ticket checks, better fencing, new security lanes, and stricter implementation of the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) that exists outside the stadium on event days.
The procedures are part of the stadium’s preparations for this year’s UEFA Champions League Final, which will take place on June 1 at Wembley Stadium.
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